Freddie Slater delivered a commanding performance in the opening race of the weekend at Zandvoort, securing his second victory of the season in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine. The Prema Racing driver executed a textbook start, overtaking pole-sitter Pedro Clerot (Van Amersfoort Racing) with a decisive move and controlling the race from start to finish. His strong pace and confidence with the car confirmed his excellent form as he crossed the line first on the Dutch circuit.
Behind him, Clerot held firm to finish second, marking an important result for Van Amersfoort Racing on home soil. The Brazilian, who had taken his maiden pole position in the series earlier that morning, continued his strong form in what is his second year in FRECA.
Another standout performance came from Akshay Bohra (R-ace GP), who claimed the final podium spot after running a consistent race near the front. Starting from the front row alongside Clerot, Bohra held position and added valuable points to his tally.
Evan Giltaire (ART Grand Prix) had a solid outing, securing fourth place after passing Enzo Deligny (R-ace GP) early in the race. Deligny ultimately crossed the line in fifth. Matteo De Palo (Trident) maintained sixth place throughout the race, a result that allowed him to retain his lead in the overall championship standings.
Hiyu Yamakoshi (Van Amersfoort Racing) finished seventh, while a close battle unfolded behind him for eighth place. Rashid Al Dhaheri (Prema Racing) edged out teammate Jack Beeton to secure P8, with Beeton taking ninth at the flag. Rounding out the top ten was Dion Gowda (Van Amersfoort Racing), who also emerged as the top rookie finisher, adding another strong result to his campaign and completing a VAR trio in the top ten.
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Just outside the points, Michael Belov (CL Motorsport), one of the most experienced drivers in the field, finished ahead of Kanato Le (ART Grand Prix), Jin Nakamura (R-ace GP), Enzo Peugeot (RPM), and Taito Kato (ART Grand Prix), who completed the top fifteen.
The race featured two safety car periods. The first was triggered on the opening lap following contact between Edouard Borgna (G4 Racing) and Aditya Kulkarni (Akcel GP). The second was deployed after Nikita Bedrin (Saintéloc Racing) stopped at the exit of Turn 10 due to a technical issue, just as he was making a strong recovery drive from the back of the grid, having climbed up to P16.
Freddie Slater – Prema Racing
"It’s been a pretty long day – we were the last cars on track and had quite an early start this morning. Ending it with a win feels great. I was a bit disappointed with qualifying because I didn’t maximise my own potential, and that always annoys me. But this was the perfect way to bounce back.
I knew exactly what I had to do at the start – the goal was clear in my head, and I just had to execute. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be in P1 going into Turn 1, it felt like a bit of a long shot. But miracles do happen, and it worked out.
The safety car restarts were tough to manage, especially with the wind, the banking, the dirty track, and in these cold conditions, it’s not easy to keep tyre temperature. You need a couple of corners to get back into the rhythm. But I really enjoyed the race. It’s always fun to race here. Tomorrow looks like it could be wet, so we’ll see how that goes. The main goal is to qualify well and then fight it out in the race."
Pedro Clerot – Van Amersfoort Racing
"I’d be lying if I said I’m completely happy after the race. I think we did the best we could. I struggled a bit at the start, but the pace overall was strong. Taking pole position this morning in tricky conditions was great, and P2 is still a solid result to kick off the weekend.
It wasn’t easy – Freddie did a really good job on the safety car restarts. I think I could have managed them a bit better; I had to defend both times. We have a few things to work on, but I’m confident in our package. The team deserves strong results, and I believe we had the potential for more today. Still, a good day overall."
Akshay Bhora – R-ace GP
"I think it was a very positive day overall. We had a strong qualifying session where we pretty much extracted everything we could. The race start was tricky, being on the dirty side, and I didn’t get the best launch. Maybe I could have challenged for P2 into Turn 2, but aside from that, I think it was a well-executed race.
It’s my first time racing at this track, so it’s all about progressing and developing as a driver. It’s not an easy circuit for overtaking, with high-speed corners and short straights. From my side, it was about managing the race through Turn 1 and Sector 2, staying out of dirty air, and trying to get close enough after Turn 13. Even if I felt faster towards the end, it was still tough to get close enough to make a move.
My focus remains on doing the best I can – whether that means finishing last or first, it’s about delivering a good performance."
Dion Gowda – Van Amersfoort Racing
"Tough qualifying – starting from P12 on a track where overtaking is tricky. But I managed to make it into the top 10 and score some points, plus take the rookie win. The team’s done a great job all weekend. We were always in the top five during free practice, but things just didn’t go our way in quali.
Tomorrow’s a new day, a new qualifying session, and I think we have the pace to do more. Congrats to Pedro on the podium – hopefully we can be fighting up there too with a better start tomorrow. It’s definitely a step up from F4, with so many cool tracks like Spa, Zandvoort and Budapest. I’m learning something new every weekend and just getting better and better."
Attention now turns to tomorrow morning’s qualifying session, scheduled for 9:00 AM.